The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-17
Grant the Charter.

! The more railroads Savannah has the
! greater will be the trade which sho will con-
troll. If other roads leading towards her are
built they will necessarily pass through sec
tions of country which are now to a great
extent, without railroad facilities. Much of
the trade of these sections viii be enjoyed by
her because of the facilities for reaching her.
The citizens of Savannah, therefore, who
are all interested in promoting her pros
perity, ought to exert whatever influence
they have in favor of railroad projects
which promises to give her boost
In all parts of the State the people are
active in behalf of railroads. They are
aware that rail communication does more
to build up a country than almost any other
thing. They do not depend wholly upon
others to build the roads but they lend a
helping hand themselves. The result is that
new roads are all the time being projected,
and there is at the present time great deal
of railroad building in the State.
There is now an application pending in
the Legislature for a charter for a road
which is called the Savannah, Macon and
birmingham line. If the charter is granted
there is good reasons for thinking that it
will be built, provided the Savannah, Dub
lin and Western is not built Some rich
men of Alabama are ready to build that
part of the line from Birmingham to the
Georgia State line if they are given assur-
ances that the part from the State line to
Savannah will be built
The application for charter for this road
is opposed by those interested in the Savan-
nah, Dublin and Western, and why2 Be
cause they say it will parallel their line, and
injure it. They say, further, that they will
have their road ready to operate from Sa-
vannah to Macon by March 10, 1888. They
base this statement on their contract with
the United States Construction Company,
which is now engaged in building the road.
Their objection to the granting of charter
to the Savannah, Macon and Birmingham
company appears to be a very good one,
until the proposition of the latter company
is heard, and then it doesn't seem to be so
good. In effect the Savannah, Macon and
Birmingham people say: Let us have our
charter with the understanding that it
shall not be valid until after
March 10, 1888, and shall not be valid at
al II biit DllDllil anu "eSbtTU 10
built by that date, or within a reasonable
time thereafter. This appears to be very
fair. If the Savannah, Dublin and West
ern people build their road, they will never
be bothered by the charter to the Savan-
nah, Macon and Birmingham. 1t certainly
looks now as if they were in good earnest
about building it. 1t is difficult to under
stand, therefore, why they oppose the appli
cation of the Savannah, Macon and Biz
mingham for charter. It cannot hurt
them if they are in earnest in what they are
doing, and if they are not in earnest, the
way will be open for Savannah to secure
another road if charter Is granted to
the Savannah, Macon and Birmingham.
Our aim is to help Savannah, and to that
end we would like to see the Savannah,
Dublin and Western built, and we would
like to see charter granted to the Savan-
nah, Macon and Birmingham, in order that
Savannah may be in a good position to get
another road to Birmingham and the West
if, for any reason, the Savannah, Dublin
and Western should fail to be completed.
We do not see that under the circumstances
the Legislature has any reason for refusing
TO grant a charter to the Savannah, Macon
and Birmingham.